Why Comparison Only Steals Joy (WIAW)

Comparison is A THIEF. It’s a thief that starts to steal my Christ (not self) confidence if I let myself start comparing my diet to another’s in the WIAW link-up or in daily life instead of enjoying looking at other people’s eats and encouraging them in their journey. I love the WIAW link-up, and why would I want to be jealous of other people’s eats? Well, jealousy comes in, and it’s a thief that makes me wish I had something that I don’t. In the end, it makes me miserable.

Thank you to Laura, Jenn, and Arman for faithfully hosting or hostessing this link-up. It has always been one of my favorites!

But I CAN’T be ruled by this thief, because Christ Jesus came for another purpose! Comparison is a destroyer of abundant joy in the Holy Spirit, of walking with the Lord. So, instead of doing a regular WIAW, I’m going to sprinkle my WIAW food photos throughout while talking about one of the biggest triggers of an eating disorder or any jealousy that I struggle with day by day.

Philippians 2:3, ‘Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.’

I have to admit that this struggle is real. I get jealous of other people’s blogs, other people’s bodies, other people’s lives, and that grieves me. That’s the difficulty and the reality of every day, BUT the bigger reality is that I don’t have to be jealous, and Christ Jesus my Lord has come so that I might be FILLED with HIS life and NOT sin any longer. And God is working in me each day to MORTIFY, KILL, DESTROY every last part of that sin that wants to hang out in my life.

James 3:14-15, ‘But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.’

Queen of yogurt bowls

Romans 7 is such a WONDERFUL contrast of what the Christian WAS before they were redeemed by the blood of Christ and what they are after the AWESOME work of salvation. Even though I struggle with jealousy, I know that I can’t be dominated by it anymore.

Romans 6:14, ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.’

Here’s what I was before God saved me from my sins by the blood of His Son and gave me hope by the resurrection of His precious and Beloved Son.

Romans 7:8-9, ‘But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.’

Sin had me. I was chained, bruised by the fall, broken, and I couldn’t get away from it. It ruled my life before Christ.

(Disclaimer: I was given a sample pack of these bars for a blog review, and all I can say is, ‘They are DELICIOUS.’ THEY might come in TIED with Larabar, in my opinion.)

A BIG part of the recovery journey for me was realizing that I was a sinner. Ii was more than just saying, ‘Well I’m not perfect…’ It was a stark realization that I was a BIG wretched, proud, selfish sinner, and that I needed Jesus, that I couldn’t save myself, that I was destined for hell, that I was an enemy of God.

That’s why I’m thankful for the law. I’m thankful that the law shows me just how helpless I am to keep it. I’m helpless to keep it. It couldn’t save me, but then Jesus Christ came.

(Every blogger’s favorite snack, right?)

Romans 7:7, ‘What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.’

The law taught me that I was a sinner, and that’s where grace came in and abounded.

I don’t like to sin. I don’t like feeling jealous or angry or frustrated or bitter or selfish, but I echo Paul’s words in Romans 7.

Being new in Christ is a RADICAL transformation. It means that there is THEREFORE now no condemnation from the law. It means that if we LOVE Him, we will keep His commandments. There is no FEAR in love. Instead, it’s a relationship of a son to a father and mother, a daughter to a mother and father. I don’t want to displease my parents because I love them, not because I fear them punishing them.

(2 yogurt containers finished in 2 days… Yep, we like yogurt in this house.)

It would pain me, grieve me to displease my Heavenly Father, and it does pain me when there is still so much sin that is always trying to tempt me.

That sin’s like a third arm now. That eating disorder, those idols of body, self, food aren’t part of me. They may tempt me, but they CAN’T master me. My master is Christ, and His yoke is OH, so easy. It’s not ‘moralistic’ and ‘legalistic’ but I can follow Him because He loved me. I can desire to be more and more like Christ, to forsake lust, adultery, lying, anger, bitterness, cheating, and idolatry because I want to be closer to Him in purity.

(Haven’t had bagels in sooo long… 🙂 Just finished up the cinnamon raisin peanut butter.)

Salvation is so much more than forgiveness. It’s a COMPLETELY new family. I’m either bound by sin or by Christ, and PRAISE God that I am bound by Christ.

I can’t just paint a picture of perfect roses, because I’m still a sinner, imperfect, and not complete YET. Yet, I’m trusting in God’s promises.

This is my prayer. 2 Thessalonians 1:12, ‘That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.’

I know that it is all grace. Grace constrains me. Love holds me and convicts me when I disobey God’s law.

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset

And that’s where I’m at when it comes to body jealousy, blogger jealousy.

It is a real struggle, but it’s not one that can master me, because Christ is my master.

Why would I prefer one person above another or compare myself to another?

I know that God has given us all different gifts, different bodies, and different paths, and I struggle with that, but I’m going to start firing some TRUTH from Scripture about how God created each person with different gifts, different passions, different functions in the body, and why I KNOW and KEEP being reminded day after day that COMPARISON to any other person, jealousy of any other person is wrong.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, ‘And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

James 3:16, ‘For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.’

Envying is evil. It never does anything. It only hurts, because it’s sin, and that’s the business of sin. Sin hurts. Christ heals. Christ redeems. This is Christ! The miraculous, glorious story is that God chooses those of us who struggle with envy, who war with sin in our members, and He shows that He can redeem the darkest hearts of men and women like me. He sends HIs Son Jesus Christ, both God and man, so that we could see just how helpless we were, and just how much we needed a Savior, and not any savior that man could try to drum up. Corinthians 1:27-31, ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’

So where am I at? I want to quit glorying in myself and trying to be jealous of other people’s success and jobs. I want to PRAISE God for the way in which He created other people and blesses them. I know that my Heavenly Father doesn’t want me glorying in myself, because I’m pretty pitiful, but I can glory in Jesus, which is so much better. I can glory that Jesus Christ came to earth, showed so much compassion to the lost, and that God, so kindly, showed me mercy and set me free from some of the biggest idols, idols that He crushed and is crushing every day in equipping me with the whole armor of God to fight against temptation, lust, sin, and the devil.

Galatians 6:14, ‘But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.’

With man, it is impossible. Yet, with God ALL things are possible! Don’t believe in yourself. Believe in Him! Nothing is too hard for the Lord!

Praying that your mind would be renewed in Christ Jesus today! In Him, we are new creatures. Old things are passed away. All things are BECOME radically new. Romans 12:2, ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’

One of my favorite things that my mother in law has ever told me is “Don’t let ANYONE or ANYTHING steal your joy.” And it’s such a great reminder. That joy is not their’s to take from us.
When we let comparison steal our joy however, that is when we fail ourselves. How on earth should it be possible for something as vain as comparison to be able to steal away the joy that is in our hearts because of Christ? BUT WE ARE HUMAN! We all fall short of His glory, and we all fall in to the comparison trap every now and again. Reminding ourselves that our joy comes from an eternal salvation and Christ’s victory over death makes those tiny comparisons and joy suckers seem so trivial.

Comparison IS the thief of joy!! i used to fall into this trap so much- comparing my body to others or my workouts or my intake… and it simply brought me nothing but unhappiness!! Life is too short to compare ourselves to others. Loved this post girly and love you! Xoxo

I hate comparing myself to people, but I still do it The worst is comparing myself to my sister. We are SO DIFFERENT but because we’re related Satan always puts that “who’s better?” thought in my mind. It’s so silly and I get so tired of it. The best thing I can come up with to stop the comparison trap is to pray out loud and multiple times that I am happy for that person. It brings me joy that God has blessed them is certain ways and myself in other ways. That’s the only thing that (sometimes) works.

I 100% agree that comparison steals joy. Like you say, it is so hard to get away from comparing ones self to others in a world where we are afforded little glimpses (like WIAW) into the lives of others. Comparison is a very difficult playing field to navigate, especially in eating disorder recovery but it seems like you’re doing a pretty good job of refocusing the negative energy of comparison on something positive instead!

The Life of the Writer

I live in the beautiful state of Colorado where 14ers are to give you all the sore legs you need, amazing skiing, plenty of other runners, glorious sunsets, majestic elk herds, and peaceful country roads with clear air.

Go Back in Time!

Go Back in Time!

I am a very ordinary girl. I’m 21, but if you met me, you wouldn’t believe me. I am passionate about girls finding true beauty in Christ. I love peanut butter, icecream, and salad. My hobbies are cooking, baking, sharing laughs and tears with others, and sharing the fullness of joy that Christ has put in me. I love reading other blogs, and I hope that this will be a place where you can find encouragement, recipes, smiles, and joy. Click here to read more about me...